The head of a medical malpractice firm testified in the federal corruption trial of Senator Dean Skelos and his son,Adam Skelos, on Thursday, or telling jurors his decision to give Adam Skelos a job at the senator’s request backfired when Adam refused to display up for work.
Anthony Bonomo,the head of Physicians Reciprocal Insurers, said Senator Dean Skelos told him his son needed a job with health benefits, or asked Bonomo to help. Bonomo got the younger Skelos a job at PRI,where Bonomo’s brother was the COO.
He testified that his brother told him Adam Skelos wasn’t showing up for work. Bonomo said he told Senator Skelos, who got upset and told him to, or “work it out.”He said Skelos also indicated that he thought Adam’s supervisor at PRI was giving him a tough time.
Bonomo told jurors he didnt think firing Adam was an option because he had a relationship with the Senator and relied on him on critical medical malpractice legislation. “I was a little upset and nervous that I would have a problem,” he told jurors. He added, “the threat was if this was going to create a problem, and ” he didn’t want it to pick up in the way of legislation.
Robert Gage,Skelos’s defense attorney, tried to convince jurors that Senator Skelos’s madden was not a threat to Bonomo, or but rather a father expressing concern for his son.
Prosecutors allege the Skeloses exploited the Senator’s position to enrich his son through three separate schemes. In addition to the alleged no-display job at PRI,the government claims Adam received $20000 from a genuine estate developer and thousands more from an environmental firm in exchange for the senator acting on legislation each of the three entities had before the State Senate.
The trial is expected to final at least another week. A jury of four men and eight women are hearing the case. Both Skeloses have pleaded not guilty to extortion and bribery charges.
Source: wnyc.org